


(stories that) only we will know

by unmootivated



Series: Edeleth Short Stories [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: AUs of other routes, Crimson Flower, F/F, Mostly Canon Compliant, Post-Crimson Flower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unmootivated/pseuds/unmootivated
Summary: ***Tentative Hiatus***“Heh, I suppose it’s a silly story to cling to.”“It’s a lovely story.”And maybe we can write another.Alternatively: An Edeleth ficlet collection. (For when I lack the motivation to write anything longer.)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edeleth Short Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839928
Comments: 12
Kudos: 61





	1. the goddess tower event (pt. 1)

“Ah, here you are. Are you waiting for someone?”

_I was waiting for you._

“I'm not waiting for anyone,” Byleth said instead. She turned around, a soft smile curling upon her lips at the sight of the young house leader.

“Good,” Edelgard said, returning the smile. “I would not wish to interrupt anything.”

But as pleased as Byleth was to see the prodigious Black Eagle, Byleth could not forget the fact that she was now first and foremost a professor.

And Edelgard, her student.

A student… who also happened to be the heir to the throne of the Adrestian Empire. An Imperial princess with many suitors she was surely meant to be dancing with at tonight’s grand ball.

“Has something happened?”

What other reason could there be for Edelgard to seek her out?

Edelgard crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in response to Byleth’s question.

“No, nothing in particular,” she began slowly, with a click of her tongue and tilt of her head. “In fact, that's why I came here.” 

Her gaze began to wander away from Byleth as she looked around at the walls of the tower surrounding them.

And as the Imperial princess launched into a story about her parents’ first meeting in this very tower, Byleth found her own eyes unable to stray away from the younger woman before her.

The curve of her lips when she smiled. The way her hair caught in the moonlight that trickled in from the openings of the tower.

...The way her lilac eyes softened as she told an enchanting love story of the distant past. 

“Heh, I suppose it’s a silly story to cling to.”

“It’s a lovely story.” 

_And maybe we can write another._

“Isn’t it?” Edelgard smiled once more, and Byleth froze, once more captivated by the beauty of such a simple action.

“It’s a shame that the lovely stories ended after I was born.”

Edelgard’s smile disappeared.

And Byleth felt her unbeating heart sink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who decided to take their screen name too literally???
> 
> Shout-out to Byedletre for suggesting this idea of writing shorter stuff instead of nothing at all in the first place & for being a big reason why I decided to not give up on fic writing entirely… Plz go check Byedletre's [fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Byedletre) out, too! (Imo, they're all incredible.)
> 
> Also, thanks to everyone for all the kind and supportive words & the kudos on my Sept. fic… and, well, all my Edeleth fics so far. Tbh, I am still very much struggling to write stuff that I myself consider “decent enough,” but it helps knowing that there are ppl out there who like my terrible ideas anyhow. ♥
> 
> Thanks for reading. Stay safe and take care, everyone. ^^


	2. the goddess tower event (pt. 2)

“You can share a story about your past.”

_I have no such stories._

“...or perhaps tell me about _your_ first love.”

Byleth stiffened, eyes widening. She gripped the sleeve of her coat, her nails digging into the gray fabric beneath her fingertips.

“Please don’t ask that of me.”

_It’s you. You’re my first love._

To Byleth’s dismay, Edelgard’s smile only grew as she said teasingly, “You realize that just makes me more curious than ever!”

Byleth gnawed at her lower lip. “Sorry…”

“Heh… No, I’m the one who should apologize. It wasn’t my intention to pry…”

The rest of her words drowned out as Byleth continued staring forward, enraptured by the elegant way in which Edelgard held herself.

Entranced.

Her eyes drifted down the length of the younger woman’s arm and to her hand as Edelgard flipped a strand of her long, silken hair back over her shoulder.

What would it feel like to hold that hand?

To have that hand over her shoulders while they danced the night away?

_But that can never happen_.

A change in Edelgard’s tone brought Byleth out of her reverie.

“Let's leave it there for today and return to the ball.”

_She’s the future emperor._

Lilac eyes met azure blue.

_...I’m a former mercenary._

“I cannot keep you all to myself, after all.”

And so, as Byleth followed Edelgard down the steps out of the Goddess Tower, she bit her lip. Holding back the words she longed to say.

_Yes, you can_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit low on motivation to write again lately, but that's okay! This is the last part of this "event" scene, btw. Thanks for reading <3


	3. in the aftermath of the final battle (pt. 1)

“My dear niece.”

Edelgard stilled along the path as an all-too-familiar voice met her ears, the sound wholly grating and unwelcome. Anticipation prickled the young emperor’s skin as she suppressed a sigh, then turned to face her so-called uncle. 

She let a small, terse and polite smile slip onto her face. A careful mask to conceal the ever turbulent emotions within her.

"Yes, Uncle?" 

Her tone was mild and even. Perhaps even a hint subservient.

But the true question behind her words were as clear as day.

_What do you want?_

Unfazed, Lord Arundel took a step forward.

“Now that we have freed the world from that false beast of a goddess, we should make haste on deciding the Empire’s next plans.”

He took a step closer, and Edelgard froze. Everything within her screamed for her to run away.

But she was the emperor of all Fódlan now - not a child kept against her will in a dark dungeon beneath the Imperial palace.

She could not run away, even if she wanted to.

(Besides, that child had died long ago.

She could _no longer_ run away, even if she wanted to.)

And so, the emperor of all Fódlan leveled her eyes at the former Adrestian Empire regent - her former oppressor. Kept her mask of cool politeness on, and ignored the dull ache in her chest at having to still deal with the one who had once tormented her.

She nodded ever so slightly, signalling for him to go on.

“In particular, your former professor from the Officers Academy...”

Edelgard raised a hand to stop him mid-sentence.

“...Is on track to a full recovery. Thank you for inquiring about her health.”

Lord Arundel frowned at the interruption. (How utterly disrespectful of her.)

Even without words, Edelgard could sense the displeasure rolling off the former regent in scornful waves.

She narrowed her eyes, knowing full well that her meaning had gotten through.

_Stop talking about her._

Her false uncle’s frown deepened. Then it vanished, as if it had never been there at all.

“I see. That is good to hear.”

There was no inflection in his tone, nothing to give away what he was thinking. 

Edelgard met his eyes and found them indecipherable. Unease phased through her entire being, like a cool breeze on a winter night.

“But perhaps she would recover much more quickly if she were beneath my care instead. In fact, you would be wise to let me be the sole person to see to her recovery from here on.”

( _Hand her over. Or else._ )

The subtle threat should she choose to not comply was not lost on the emperor. The feeling of unease coursing through her veins intensified.

And Edelgard felt her blood run cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what I'm doing.


	4. in the aftermath of the final battle (pt. 2)

“Thank you for the offer, but that won’t be necessary. I assure you, my teacher is doing just fine in our care.”

_You can have her. Over my dead body._

“Hm,” Lord Arundel said, a taut smile forming upon his countenance. “It was not an offer.” 

_(That can be arranged.)_

Edelgard opened her mouth to respond, an already tense look on the emperor’s face to match the former regent’s own. But before a single word could leave her lips, Lord Arundel shook his head.

The young emperor shut her mouth and stared. She crossed her arms and took a step back, waiting obediently for her dear uncle to finish saying his piece.

Like a child once more.

(But she was a child no more, she reminded herself.

Why should she listen to his words?

And the man standing before her now was no dear uncle of hers from the past anymore.)

“It is for your own good. This newly unified Fódlan is still in dire need of a ruler who will give its people her full attention. You cannot keep wasting so much of your time by your professor’s bedside.”

Edelgard frowned at his choice of words. The implication made her blood boil with a simmering rage, one that nearly set fire to her tongue.

But she could not afford to lose control. Not now.

Not when that was most certainly what Lord Arundel wanted.

Her right hand drew into a fist by her side. She broke eye contact, choosing to instead look past her uncle’s face and into the growing shadows behind.

It was starting to get late.

Lord Arundel’s lips twisted in disdain. “You have gotten attached to her. And all of Fódlan can see it.”

( _She is your weakness_.)

Edelgard uncurled her fist and placed her palm flat against her dress.

He was trying to rile her up. 

(But he would not succeed.)

Her mask of distant politeness fell back over her face as she calmly met Arundel’s eyes once more.

“Without my teacher’s power, we would not have prevailed upon this path to victory,” she said coolly instead, watching the Agarthan before her carefully. “You would do well to remember that.”

_She is my strength._

_And with her by my side, I fear nothing._

Edelgard tilted her chin upward, a challenge in her eyes.

“For that alone, she has the Empire’s protection for the rest of her days.”

**_I_ ** _will protect her for the rest of my days._

_Do._ **_Not._ ** _Touch. Her._

Lord Arundel’s own eyes glinted in return, contempt clear upon the former regent’s face.

“Do you not think yourself as capable enough to have walked upon your chosen path alone?”

It was a question full of mockery and belittlement. A reminder to the young emperor of just how little power she truly had at the moment against those who slithered in the dark.

And while she was resolved to change all that soon enough, Edelgard was no fool as to just how careful she still had to be with her next words.

Yet, Lord Arundel’s question had struck a chord within her all the same. For the five years Byleth had been gone, Edelgard had looked upon her reflection in the mirror of her room and asked herself the same question over and over again, every single day until her dear teacher miraculously returned to her.

_How can I continue down this path of mine without my teacher?_

( _Do you consider yourself weak?_ )

_Am I weak without my teacher’s strength?_

...Would she have been able to successfully walk down this chosen path of hers without Byleth?

Edelgard placed a hand on her chin, then turned a reflective tone onto the deceitful lord.

“No.”

It was a simple answer. One without any hidden meaning.

A single word.

(It was Edelgard’s simple truth.)

“No, I do not.”

For a moment, Lord Arundel remained silent, blinking slowly in contemplation - the simplicity of Edelgard’s answer wholly unexpected.

“I see.”

(Or perhaps the answer itself had been unexpected.

Perhaps he had expected her to have instead said _yes_.

_Yes, I am more than capable on my own._

Which she had almost been tempted to do, to an extent.)

“How disappointing.”

His pale purple eyes narrowed into slits.

“Perhaps another would be more suited to being emperor, then.”

( _I made you what you are._ )

( _And I can take that away, all the same._ )

It was both an insult and a warning. She had been the Agarthans’ ultimate weapon of revenge against Rhea and her kind. And now she had served her purpose.

But Edelgard was not going to allow herself to be thrown aside so easily. Especially not when _she_ was the one planning on getting rid of _them_ soon enough anyway.

(Besides, little did Lord Arundel know, Edelgard had long been done being another’s weapon. For years, in fact.)

It was time for the emperor to put the fear back in the former regent.

To remind _him_ of _his_ place.

(To be quite honest, Edelgard was also beginning to tire of this little game of doublespeak.)

She closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. Then she opened them, meeting Lord Arundel’s eyes once again. "It seems the latest events have stressed you so, dear Uncle.” 

“ _Perhaps_ it is time for retirement."

She paused to give a small smile, straightening her back and tilting her head up ever so slightly. 

Confident. Proud.

The picture of refinement.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m afraid I must be on my way. I have a meeting to attend.”

_I’m done talking to you._

She took a single step forward, then nodded at the former regent to move out of her way.

(Nevermind it wasn’t the way she was originally heading down before; she was making a show of authority here.)

Lord Arundel sneered, an affectionless and unpleasant smile plastered upon his pale face. And for a moment, Edelgard thought he looked as though he wanted to say something. But then he acquiesced, giving a small, mocking half bow as he stepped aside to let her pass.

“Of course. I could not stand to make you late, _Your Majesty_.”

( _You are nothing without me._ )

Edelgard raised a brow in mock amusement, then turned her back on him.

(How delusional of the former regent.)

Without another word, she began to walk away, clicking her heels loudly upon the cobblestone path before her - and with each step forward, began to leave the chains of her past behind.

She would let him have the last words. They were nothing but pointless drivel anyway.

Especially so when she knew her own worth.

_I am_ **_everything_ ** _and so much more._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Got busy and missed last week. So, here’s 1000+ words to make up for it. (Actually, a self-imposed deadline was a bad idea to begin with. I’m not doing that anymore. ^^; )
> 
> Idk when the next update will be, tbh. There’s just… too much stuff going on for me in life rn.
> 
> Thank you to those who have read up until now. Take care and stay well, everyone. ♥


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